Drop end gondola cars



April 17, 1962 o. INGRAM DROP END GONDOLA CARS Original Filed Feb. 14, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q m Q NW P v a. m Q 3 1 h E Nh I1 I Ill 1 w ww v w Q a. O Q Q Q ww I Q W W fl/ J w v mm m H U QN W m Pk Q.

April 17, 1962 o. INGRAM DROP END GONDOLA CARS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Feb. 14, 1946 3,029,748 DROP END GGNDOLA CARS Orville Ingram, Pinecrest, Va, assignor to Unitcast (Zorporation, Toledo, Ulric, a corporation of Uhio Original application Feb. 14, 1946, Ser. No. 647,603, now Patent No. 2,567,237, dated Sept. 11, i951. Divided and this application Aug. 7, 1951, Ser. No. 240,650

6 Claims. (Cl. lltl-406) This is a divisional application of Ingram application Serial No. 647,608, filed February 14, 1946, now Patent No. 2,567,287 dated September 11, 1951.

My invention relates to railway freight cars and particularly to gondola cars having doors hinged to the car body adjacent the lower edge of the said door so that on closing the door must be raised from horizontal to vertical position.

The invention is particularly useful in connection with the drop end doors of gondola cars which commonly weigh approximately 850 pounds apiece. Considerable difficulty is, therefore, usually experienced in moving the doors upwardly from their horizontal open positions to their closed vertical positions. Two or more workmen are required to effect closure of these drop end doors or else some mechanical means, such, for example, as a crane which is not often available, must be employed.

The principal object of the invention is to provide simple and effective mechanism capable of practical application to a railway car, for imparting to a hinged car door, whose swinging movement from open position to closed position is opposed by the action of gravity, a force generated by the opening movement of the door itself which tends to force the door toward closed position.

A primary feature of the invention consists in providing a railway car door with a pair of brackets secured to the door adjacent the sides thereof and a pair of brackets immovably secured to the car body adjacent the sides of the door, a torsion rod being connected to the door bracket at one side of the door and being connected to the car bracket at the opposite side thereof so that, when the door is moved to open position, the rod is energized to provide a force tending to return the door to closed position.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing a door with a pair of relatively inclined torsion rods adjacent the hinged edge thereof which are respectively connected at their opposite ends to the door and to the car body adjacent the opposite edges of the door so that opening movement of the door will energize the rods to provide a force tending to return the door to closed position.

-A further feature of the invention consists in providing the side walls of a railway gondola car adjacent opposite side edges of a crop end door with portions to which the ends of torsion rods arranged adjacent the hinged edge of the door may be connected;

A further feature of the invention consists in so forming the ends of the torsion rods secured to the car body that they serve as pivotal mountings for the door.

A still further feature of the invention consists in arranging a torsion rod which tends to return the hinged door toward closed position on the outside of the door where it will not come in contact with the lading within the car.

A still further feature of the invention consists in providing a pivoted railway car door with a pair of torsion rods whose opposite ends are respectively connected to brackets carried by the door and to brackets mounted on the car body, the brackets on the door being formed 3,029,748 Patented Apr. 17, less with laterally projecting pintles hingedly associating th door with the car.

Still another feature of the invention consists in providing a drop end door of a gondola car with brackets adjacent the lower corners thereof respectively having hub portions engageable with the floor of the car and atfording a rotatable support for the door.

Still another feature of the invention consists in providing a drop end door of a railway gondola car with a pair of relatively inclined torsion rods whose opposite ends are adapted to be immovably secured to the door and the car body and in providing the door with brackets having hub portions affording a pivotal support for the door, the central portions of the hubs being apertured to permit the passage of the torsion rods therethrough for connection to the car body.

Other and more specific features of the invention, residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, illustrating two embodiments of the invention.

FIGURE 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view of a railway gondola car showing one form of the invention applied to the outer face of the drop end door.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged view adjacent the lower corner of the door.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing one of the brackets secured to the car body and the adjacent end of the torsion rod connected thereto.

The form of invention illustrated in FIGURES 1 to 4, inclusive, is applied to a railway gondola car having generally the same structural features as the car illustrated and described in the form of the invention covered by my copending application Serial No. 647,608, filed' February 14, 1946.

As in the embodiment of the invention heretofore described, the opposite ends of the torsion rods are respectively securely held in the door brackets 46 and in the car brackets 55 so that, when the door is swung inwardly from its upright closed position, the rods are twisted and thereby provide a force tending to return the door to closed position.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 1 to 4, inclusive, the railway gondola car illustrated is of substantially the same construction as the gondola car shown in my Patent No. 2,567,287. The fioor of the car, however, in this embodiment of the invention is shown as being formed of metal plate instead of wood and it may be conveniently connected to the side walls of the car by welding or other suitable means.

The brackets secured to the lower corners of the door and designated by the reference numeral 46 are each formed with a plate portion 47 secured to the main body of the door and with an angularly disposed plate portion 48 secured to the adjacent outturned flange 49 of the door. The side plate portions 48 of the brackets angle inwardly and form the top walls of sockets St for receiving one end of each of the torsion rods 51. The sockets 50 are preferably open at both ends and triangular flanges 52 are positioned at the outer ends thereof to prevent the cooperating torsion rods 51 from being pushed all the way through the sockets.

Below the sockets 50, the door brackets are provided with hub portions 53 whose peripheries engage the floor of the car and, therefore, afford a rotatable support. The central portion of each of the hubs 53 is apertured as at 54 through which the corresponding end of the other torsion rod extends for connection to the car body.

Positioned at opposite sides of the door are brackets 55 preferably having plate portions 56 by which the brackets may be secured to the car sides. Each bracket 55 has an upwardly opening recess 57 for receiving the polygonal end 58 of the torsion rod which extends through the opening in the central portions of the hub of the adjacent door bracket. Rotatably mounted in one of the Walls of the recess 57 is a bolt 49 having a nut 60 which overlies the adjacent end of the torsion rod and retains it in the recess. Each of the car brackets may also be provided with an upstanding wall or flange 62 which is adapted to partially overlap the hub portions 53 of the brackets 46. The walls 62 of the brackets are spaced sufliciently from the upstanding legs 63 of an end angle 64 to receive the hub portions of the door brackets and to prevent shifting of said hub portions laterally thereof. The inwardly opening corrugations 65 at the bottom of the door in which the torsion rods are disposed may be conveniently closed by a cover plate 66 to protect the rods from lading within the car.

Various modifications may be made in the structural details of the embodiments of the invention illustrated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Door mechanism for a normally vertical drop end door of a railway gondola car, comprising brackets re spectively secured to the door adjacent lower corners thereof, means rigid with the car at opposite sides of of the door, each of said brackets having a hub'portion engaging one of said rigid means for supporting the door on the car, and torsion rod means connected at opposite ends to the door and the car and extending through and coacting with said hub portions for hingedly con necting the door to the car, said torsion rod means being adapted to be energized upon an opening movement of the door to provide a force tending to return the door to closed position.

2. Door mechanism for a normally vertical drop end door of a railway gondola car, comprising a pair of brackets respectively secured to the door adjacent lower corners thereof, means rigid with the car at opposite sides of the door, each of said brackets having a hub portion engaging one of said rigid means for support,- ing the door on the car, each of said hub portions having a substantially axial opening, and torsion rods connected at opposite ends to the door and carand each extending through one of said axial openings, said torsion rods coacting with said hub portions for hingedly connecting the door to the car, and said torsion rods being adapted to be energized upon an opening movement of the door to provide a force tending to return the door to closed position.

3. Door mechanism for a normally vertical drop end door of a railway gondola car, comprising a pair of relative inclined torsion rods extending transversely of the door adjacent its hinged edge, brackets respectively secured to the door adjacent the lower corners thereof,

and brackets secured to the car body adjacent the oppo-' one end of each of said torsion rods being connected to' one of said door brackets and extending through the opening in the hub portion of the door bracket at the opposite side of the door and being connected to the car bracket adjacent thereto, said car brackets respectively having portions vertically overlapping said hub portions to limit shifting thereof longitudinally of the car, and said torsion rods and hub portions coacting for hingedly connecting the door to the car body.

4. Door mechanism for a normally vertical drop end door of a railway gondola car, comprising a pair of relatively inclined torsion rods extending transversely of the door adjacent its hinged edge, brackets respectively secured to the door at the lower corners thereof and each having a hub portion, and brackets rigid with the car and each having a plate portion underlying one of said hub portions, said hub portions engaging said plate portions for supporting the door on the car, each of said rods being connected at one end to one of the door brackets and extending through the opposite door bracket and being connected at its other end to the car bracket adjacent thereto, said rods coacting with said hub portions for hingedly connecting the door to the car, and said rods being energized upon an opening movement of the door to provide a force tending to return the door to closed position.

5. Door mechanism for a normally vertical drop end door of a railway gondola car, comprising a pair of relatively inclined torsion rods extending transversely of the door adjacent its hinged edge, brackets respectively secured to the door adjacent the lower corners thereof, brackets rigid with the car body at either side of the door, and a hub portion on each of said door brackets and engaging one of said car body brackets for supporting the door on the car body, each of said door brackets having an open ended socket for receiving an end of one of said torsion rods and an opening in the hub portion thereof through which the other of said torsion rods extends, said hub portions and torsion rods coacting for hingedly mounting the door on the car body.

6. In a railway gondola car having a normally vertical drop end door, the combination with an end angle at the end of the car and normally adapted to be engaged by an outer face of said door when the door is in upright position, of brackets on the door adjacent the lower corners thereof, brackets secured to the car body at opposite sides of the door, a hub portion on each of said door brackets and seating in a recess in the adjacent of said car brackets'for supporting the door on the car body, and a pair of relatively inclined torsion rods adjacent the hinged edge of the door, each of said rods being secured at one end to one of said door brackets and extending through the other door bracket and being immovably secured to the car body adjacent said other door bracket, and said rods coacting with said hub portions for hingedly connecting the door to the car body.

References (Iited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 23,814 Ingram Apr. 20, 1954 59,414 Knight Nov. 6, 1866 93,359 Smith Aug. 3, 1869 2,167,427 Tatum July 25, 1939 2,537,247 Tillman Jan. 9, 1951 2,553,457 Ingram May 15, 1951 2,567,287 Ingram Sept; 11, 1951 

